Device for lowering ships&#39; boats.



S.E.AARON. DEVICE FOR LOWERING SHIPS BOATS.

APPLICATION TILED MAY 14,1912. RENEWED JAN. 25. 1913.

1 1 20,99 1 I Patented Dec. 15, 1914.

ATTORNEY.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE."

SOLOMON E. AARON, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR LOWERING SHIPS BOATS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1914..

Application filed May 14, 1912, Serial No. 697,239. Renewed January 25, 1913. Serial No. 744,276.

. a citizen of the United States, residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, (whose post-office address is 93 Henley street, Charlestown, Massachusetts,) have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Lowering Ships Boats, of' which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the method of handling ships boats when they are to be lowered into the water and hoisted from the water to the ships deck, and consists: first, of a certain form of Windlass device and suitable means for operating the same; and second, of a suitable device for attaching the davit tackle to the boat and automatically detaching the same as soon as the boat is in the water.

My objects are: First, to provide simple Windlass mechanism 'for paying out the whip or free end of the tackle ropes of both bow and stern tackles simultaneously so that the boat will always be lowered on an even keel; second to automatically detach said tackles from the boat as soon as it rests fairly in the water; third, to provide suitable .mechanical means for operating said Windlass device so that if hand power for such purpose ceases from any cause the rotation of said Windlass will automatically cease and no accident result; and fourth, to so construct said device that while a heavily loaded boat may be readily lowered, the tackles when detached may be quickly brought back to their original position.

I accomplish these important and desirable results by means of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which-'- Figure 1 is a perspective view of is an end elevation; Fig. 4 is a plan, of the operating mechanism of said device; and Fig. 5 is an elevation of the automatic detaching device.

Similar letters refer to similar parts in the several views.

A is a ships boat suspended from the davits by the usual tackle.

B is a portion of the side and deck of the ship, constructed in the ordinary manner.

turn is journaled in the bracket F, and adapted to be rotated by the lever Q, fixed my de-' vice; Fig. 2 is a front elevation; Fig. 3

of the hook is, however,

0 C are the davits, and D J) the tackles for lowering the boat A. 4

Loosely fitted upon the davits Q C are the brackets E F, supported by the rings G G clamped to the davits by the cap screws a a, and prevented from sliding upward by the clamping rings H H, similarly secured.

J ournaled in the brackets E F is the shaft J having fixed upon it the winding drums K L and the worm gear M. .The end of this shaftfis squared for a crank at b. The worm N is fixed to the worm shaft 0, whose front end is squared for a crank at d. The worm shaft N- is journaled in the eccentric sleeve P, which, in

to its rear end. The worm N and worm gear M are shown engaged. By moving the eccentric lever Q, in direction of the arrows, to the position shown in dotted lines, the worm N is thrown down and out of engagement with the worm gear M. The crank R is adapted to fit upon the squared ends of the shafts at b or d. This worm and worm gear mechanism may be applied to thebracket E, thereby providing two cranks instead of one, for use in handling very large and heavy boats. The entire mechanism may be attached to the rail of the ship instead of to the davits. But I prefer the arrangement as shown.

Fig. 5 shows the device for attaching the tackles D to the boat A, and automatically detaching the same. It is constructed as follows: A metallic frame S, provided with an eye at its top end, is slotted through its center for the reception of the hook T, pivoted by the pin e. The point of the hook T is adapted to enter an angular. hole in the lower end of the frame S as shown. The upper end of the hook T forms a lever at right angles to its lower part, and when pressed upon by the spring it will force the hook open, provided it is not held by some force preventing such action. The point bent upward so that its top surface is considerably within an arc whose center is the pin e, as shown by dotted lines, and therefore the downward pull of the link f, or of any weight from throwing it open.

spring t will quickly open it.

The operation ofmy device is as follows: The boat A having been attached to the tackles I) D by means of the automatic hooks S S, and the boat swung over the ships rail, all parts of the device are in the position shown. The whips of the tackles D D are attached to the drums K L and wound upon them, as shown. The

crank B being rotated the whips unwind simultaneously and the boat A is lowered, always on an even keel, until it rests in the water. The tackle ropes then become slackened, the weight is removed from thehook T, which is then opened by the spring at and the tackles DD automatically released. The crank R is now changed to the squared end I), the eccentric lever Q thrown down, thus releasing the worm N from engagement with the worm gear M, when the drum shaft J may be rotated and the whips of the tackles D D rapidly re-wound upon the drums K L.

In cases of serious, accidents to passenger carrying ships at'sea it is a matter of most vital importance to be able to lower the boats rapidly and in an orderly manner, taking in the passengers to be thus rescued on the boat deck or from any of the lower decks, and at all times keeping the boats on an even keel, thus avoiding the accidents that have heretofore occurred by one end of the boatbeing lowered much faster than the other. v

In the ordinary method of lowering boats the whips of the lowering tackles are held by men on the boat deck who gradually 'pay out the rope, permitting the boat to descend. The two gangs of men, one at the bow and the other at the stern, will usually fail to pay out an equal length of rope, hence it is necessary for some person in the boat to supervise their action in the endeavor to keep the boat on an even keel. This operation becomes much moredifficult in the excitement of a serious accident to the ship.

' Various methods have been used to disconnect the tackles from the boat when the latter is in the Water, some of which are awkward and usually unknown by the passengers who have to operate them when there is no sailorin the boat, as happened in the past and liable to happen at any time.

In the excitement of such occasions it is very diflicult to hold a boat suspended in proper position to load passengers at a deck lower than the one upon which the men whoocontrol the whips are standing, as has been proved'byunfortunate experiences. In my device for these purposes, such contingencies have been considered and. provided for in the following manner: First, by wind- But when such pull or weight ceases the action of the ing both whips of the tackles upon drums fixed to the same shaft itis impossible for one to run out faster than the other. Second, by the use of a worm and worm gear device the boat is positively held'in any position as soon as the rotation of the crank ceases. Third, when the boat reaches the water the tackles are automatically detached, with no action whatever on the part of either passenger or sailor. Fourth, by throwing the worm and worm gear out of engagement andapplying the crank to the end of the drum shaft the whips can be readily wound up and the lower tackle block brought up ready for the lowering of another boat.

Having described the construction and operation of my device and pointed out wherein it is an provement over existing devices, I claim;

1. A device for lowering ships boats consisting essentially of a drum shaft journaled in suitable supports and having fixed upon it two winding drums and a worm gear, a

worm adapted to engage said worm gear;

and journaled in an-eccentric sleeve adaptworm adapted to engage said worm gear and journaled in an eccentric sleeve adapted to throw said worm into and ment with said worm gear, a crank adapted to fit upon the shaft of said worm or upon said drum shaft, and boat lowering tackles, suitably suspended, the free ends of whose ropes or Whips are adapted to be wound upon said drums, substantially as described and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination with spaced davits provided with supporting bases, of a shaft extending between and j ournaled in the bases of the davits, winding drums carried upon the shaft adjacent the davits, a crank shaft extending at right angles to the first mentioned shaft, gears connecting the shafts a crank adapted to be placed upon the crank shaft and upon the extrmityof the main shaftselectively and a sleeve for eccentrically mounting the crank shaft and'adapted by rotation to disengage the gears and shift the crank shaft for moving one of the gears transversely of the toothed face of the other of said gears.

4. The combination. with spaced davits provided with supporting bases, of a shaft extending between and ourna1ed adjacent carried upon the shaft, means to apply :1,

out of engagecrank to the shaft for rotating the drums, oentrically the second shaft, said sleeve bea second shaft journaled in one of the bases, ing rotatable at an angle to the path of 10 a gear carried by the second shaft, adapted movement of the first shaft.

to intergear with the first shaft and rotate I the same, and means to move the gear car- SOLOMON AARON ried by the second shaft-out of ent Witnesses:

with the main shaft, said means men- OSCAR T. Znmeo,

tioned including a sleeve for carrying ec- HILDA LU'NDBERG. 

